Yule Lads – on the greatest Open Education Resource: Wikipedia.
The Yule Lads – Picture taken by Inga Vitola CC-BY via Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/360around/8438686745/in/photolist-dRGtz4-dBRVEa-dBGFuw-5MeWDT-dBGFTu)
Yule lads are 13 trolls from Icelandic folklore who put rewards (or punishments) in shoes laid out on windowsills by children on the 13 nights in the run up to Christmas. Some Yule lads are mere pranksters while some are… homicidal monsters who eat children.
You can find out more about the Yule lads (and when they’re due to arrive in town) on the greatest open education tool; Wikipedia.
But just in case, below is a list of their names & descriptions so you can watch out for them (and their monstrous Yule Cat)!
Yule cat (from
Public Domain Super Heroes)
| Icelandic Name | English translation | Description |
| Stekkjarstaur | Sheep-Cote Clod | Harasses sheep, but is impaired by his stiff peg-legs. |
| Giljagaur | Gully Gawk | Hides in gullies, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the cowshed and steal milk. |
| Stúfur | Stubby | Abnormally short. Steals pans to eat the crust left on them. |
| Þvörusleikir | Spoon-Licker | Steals spoons to lick. Is extremely thin due to malnutrition. |
| Pottaskefill | Pot-Scraper | Steals leftovers from pots. |
| Askasleikir | Bowl-Licker | Hides under beds waiting for someone to put down their bowl which he then steals. |
| Hurðaskellir | Door-Slammer | Likes to slam doors, especially during the night. |
| Skyrgámur | Skyr-Gobbler | A Yule Lad with an affinity for skyr. |
| Bjúgnakrækir | Sausage-Swiper | Would hide in the rafters and snatch sausages that were being smoked. |
| Gluggagægir | Window-Peeper | A voyeur who would look through windows in search of things to steal. |
| Gáttaþefur | Doorway-Sniffer | Has an abnormally large nose and an acute sense of smell which he uses to locate laufabrauð. |
| Ketkrókur | Meat-Hook | Uses a hook to steal meat. |
| Kertasníkir | Candle-Stealer | Follows children in order to steal their candles. |